Choke Canyon Gives Up Seventh ShareLunker

15.45-pound bass is also new lake record

ATHENS, Texas—Brad Bookmyer of Leander had his fishing trip cut short January 21, but he was happy about it. After hooking two fish so big he could not turn them and keep them from getting off the hook, he landed a 15.45-pound largemouth bass that was 22 inches in girth and 26.25 inches long.

The fish is the seventh ShareLunker to come from Choke Canyon and weighs nearly a pound more than the previous lake record, a 14.66-pounder caught in 1991.

Bookmyer was fishing in 10 feet of 53-degree water when the fish took a crankbait. "I immediately quit fishing to get the fish into the minnow tank at the Calliham Store as soon as possible," Bookmyer said.

The fish is the third to be entered into the ShareLunker program during the current season, which runs through April 30. Anyone legally catching a largemouth bass in Texas waters, public or private, weighing 13 pounds or more can enter the fish into the program by calling program manager David Campbell at (903) 681-0550 or by paging him at (888) 784-0600 and leaving an area code and phone number.